Colombo, July 22: Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga has appointed a special committee to study government proposals on sharing power with Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said today. "The proposal is being studied by a high-level committee," presidential spokesman Harim Peiris said. The committee is headed by Kumaratunga's top adviser, Lakshman Kadirgamar, and its conclusions are expected to be disclosed on Friday, he said.

Other officials at the president's office said Kumaratunga is likely to pick holes in the proposal, which was sent to her a day after it was given to the rebels. Kumaratunga shares an uneasy relationship with her rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and is a fierce critic of the way his government has handled peace efforts with LTTE, whom she says have been given too many concessions.

Last Thursday, Wickremesinghe offered the Tigers a proposal in response to a rebel demand for political, financial and administrative powers, without which the Tigers have refused to resume peace negotiations with the government.

Wickremesinghe's ruling party controls a majority in Parliament, but lacks the two-thirds of the seats needed to make constitutional amendments to legalize power sharing with the rebels. Bureau Report